Radon levels in a hospital in Niterói Municipality-RJ, Brazil

Abstract

Uranium and radium are present in soil, rocks, water and building materials, therefore the presence of 222Rn in the air is natural, and its concentration is determined mainly by physical factors such as soil cover, altitude, porosity and soil particle size, and meteorological conditions. In rooms with poor ventilation, 222Rn can accumulate to high concentrations, which increases the risk of developing lung cancer due to continuous exposure to this gas. In this work, 222Rn was monitored, with the aid of a real-time radon monitor, RAD7, in offices and rooms at Hospital Universitário Antônio Pedro in order to evaluate the levels of 222Rn to which people are exposed. In general, the values measured in this work are similar to values observed in other studies around the world. The obtained 222Rn level of 40 Bq m-3 is close to the world average of 37 Bq m-3 defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA).